David Ridge
@dridge.bsky.social
Husband, father, grandfather (my most important roles), retired minister (not considering myself a Christian, given what that has come to mean), left of center, follower of science and advocate for human rights. Politically outspoken but on hiatus now.
7) [disclaimer: I did not know all this. I tip my hat to Frank at SetiAstro for his powerful program called What's in My Image. To other astro-imagers, if you've got a solved FITS file, his program will work for you - setiastro.com
Seti Astro
My ongoing journey through our cosmos from my backyard. Astrophotography of our solar system, galaxies, nebula, and clusters to explore. Adding new projects as photons are collected.
setiastro.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:03 AM
7) [disclaimer: I did not know all this. I tip my hat to Frank at SetiAstro for his powerful program called What's in My Image. To other astro-imagers, if you've got a solved FITS file, his program will work for you - setiastro.com
6) Look up on a clear night. Lens help. Cameras are even better... (click on image to zoom in). This was about 13 hours of exposure.
Seti Astro
My ongoing journey through our cosmos from my backyard. Astrophotography of our solar system, galaxies, nebula, and clusters to explore. Adding new projects as photons are collected.
setiastro.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:02 AM
6) Look up on a clear night. Lens help. Cameras are even better... (click on image to zoom in). This was about 13 hours of exposure.
5) And in the lower center-right is a galaxy with possibly an active black hole at 56,000,000 ly distance. In this image, astronomers have identified at least 15 quasars -- active galaxies in which the luminance of the black hole's consumption of surrounding material outshines the galaxy itself.
Seti Astro
My ongoing journey through our cosmos from my backyard. Astrophotography of our solar system, galaxies, nebula, and clusters to explore. Adding new projects as photons are collected.
setiastro.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:02 AM
5) And in the lower center-right is a galaxy with possibly an active black hole at 56,000,000 ly distance. In this image, astronomers have identified at least 15 quasars -- active galaxies in which the luminance of the black hole's consumption of surrounding material outshines the galaxy itself.
4) Directly above NGC 5248 is a Seyfert galaxy (also an active black hole) about 330,000,000 ly away. In the upper right is a "normal" galaxy, edge on, that's about 54,000,000 ly away.
Seti Astro
My ongoing journey through our cosmos from my backyard. Astrophotography of our solar system, galaxies, nebula, and clusters to explore. Adding new projects as photons are collected.
setiastro.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:00 AM
4) Directly above NGC 5248 is a Seyfert galaxy (also an active black hole) about 330,000,000 ly away. In the upper right is a "normal" galaxy, edge on, that's about 54,000,000 ly away.
3) Also included in this image are two very small "fuzzies" (galaxies) in the upper left corner that are about 1,000,000,000 (billion) light years away, one of which has an active black hole, i.e. consuming surrounding material.
Seti Astro
My ongoing journey through our cosmos from my backyard. Astrophotography of our solar system, galaxies, nebula, and clusters to explore. Adding new projects as photons are collected.
setiastro.com
June 11, 2025 at 1:59 AM
3) Also included in this image are two very small "fuzzies" (galaxies) in the upper left corner that are about 1,000,000,000 (billion) light years away, one of which has an active black hole, i.e. consuming surrounding material.
1) Located in the constellation Bootes, it is on the edge of the Virgo supercluster of galaxies (of which the MW is also a part).
Seti Astro
My ongoing journey through our cosmos from my backyard. Astrophotography of our solar system, galaxies, nebula, and clusters to explore. Adding new projects as photons are collected.
setiastro.com
June 11, 2025 at 1:45 AM
1) Located in the constellation Bootes, it is on the edge of the Virgo supercluster of galaxies (of which the MW is also a part).
You are absolutely right. I realized after I posted it that I had the wrong designator but no way to change it but to remove and repost
June 2, 2025 at 3:03 AM
You are absolutely right. I realized after I posted it that I had the wrong designator but no way to change it but to remove and repost
I think that depends on the degree of certainty you'll accept for a "yes" 😉
June 2, 2025 at 3:01 AM
I think that depends on the degree of certainty you'll accept for a "yes" 😉
Autocorrect 🙄... My intent in posting this...
May 23, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Autocorrect 🙄... My intent in posting this...
My intent in paying this was for You to copy this sheet to your own repository to make it your own, adding your own data.
May 23, 2025 at 8:22 PM
My intent in paying this was for You to copy this sheet to your own repository to make it your own, adding your own data.
... end star of the handle of the Big Dipper...
May 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM
... end star of the handle of the Big Dipper...
That's interesting! I need to pull this up on a larger screen to appreciate it more fully
May 18, 2025 at 6:21 PM
That's interesting! I need to pull this up on a larger screen to appreciate it more fully
The image on the right, M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy, is almost three times the size of the Milky Way with two and half as many stars. 21 mly away to the south of the end star of the Big Dipper, it presents a beautiful spiral structure with lots of Ha regions clearly visible.
May 18, 2025 at 6:12 PM
The image on the right, M101 - Pinwheel Galaxy, is almost three times the size of the Milky Way with two and half as many stars. 21 mly away to the south of the end star of the Big Dipper, it presents a beautiful spiral structure with lots of Ha regions clearly visible.
Roughly the same diameter as the Milky Way, its elliptical shape contains roughly twice the mass of the MW and an active nucleus and a black hole at least 250 times the mass of our own.
May 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Roughly the same diameter as the Milky Way, its elliptical shape contains roughly twice the mass of the MW and an active nucleus and a black hole at least 250 times the mass of our own.
The image on the left reminds me of dancing south of the border 😁 At about 29mly away, the Sombrero Galaxy brims with about 800,000,000,000 solar masses, making it one of the most massive communities in our cosmic neighborhood.
May 18, 2025 at 6:05 PM
The image on the left reminds me of dancing south of the border 😁 At about 29mly away, the Sombrero Galaxy brims with about 800,000,000,000 solar masses, making it one of the most massive communities in our cosmic neighborhood.